Advice from our friends at the American Chiropractic Association (ACA) can keep you from dropping this holiday season. So before
you gallop off to fill your sleigh, read through the following
checklist as created by the ACA to keep you happy, healthy and out of
pain this holiday season:

Drink water frequently throughout the day to keep your muscles and body hydrated.

Stretch before and after a long day of shopping. When you are under stress, your muscles are less flexible than usual.

Wear shoes with plenty of cushioning in the soles to absorb the impact of walking on hard shopping mall floors.

Make
sure the clothing you wear is as comfortable as possible. You may be
going from a cold environment (outdoors) to a warm environment
(indoors), so wear layers.

It's been said that living a sedentary life can be just as detrimental to one's health as smoking. Watching TV, sitting behind a desk all day, or simply failing to get adequate exercise can increase blood pressure, mortality rates, cholesterol levels, and the likelihood of obesity. Recent reports also prove that inactivity can have a major impact on a person's blood glucose levels. Doctors at the University of Missouri have evaluated how inactivity impacts blood glucose levels. First, they had the volunteers walk an average of 5,000 steps per day for three days. Then, for another three days, volunteers stopped walking and used elevators and escalators more often. In Phase I, the subjects had consistent glucose levels throughout the day. However, in Phase II, the glucose levels significantly spiked during periods of inactivity. Inconsistencies and spikes in glucose levels are key contributors to the development of type II diabetes. The American College of Sports Medicine took this study to the next level. They compared the following three activities:

Standing: Glucose levels are 5 to 12 percent lower when standing as opposed to sitting.

Walking: These levels were reduced even more when a person started walking during the day. They lowered by 24 percent.

Cycling: Cycling lowered the glucose levels even more; they were down by 44 percent.

Clearly, staying active throughout the day can reduce one's risk of type II diabetes. Chiropractors are holistic practitioners—they care about the whole person. That is why they offer dietary and lifestyle recommendations to their patients. Their goal is to be a pillar of support to patients who want to live a healthy life.

Inflammation is a major contributing factor in many diseases, from heart disease and diabetes to chronic body pain and migraines. Reducing the inflammatory process is an important key in achieving optimal health. But how can a person go about doing this? In a 2016 analysis by the American Society for Nutrition, nuts were shown to be an important component in the inflammation-lowering process. An earlier study (2014) proved that nuts specifically reduced the risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and death, but researchers weren’t exactly sure why. The 2016 study evaluated the correlation between nuts and inflammatory biomarkers. Researchers found that substituting meat, processed foods and dairy products with nuts 3 or more times per week significantly reduced the levels of inflammatory biomarkers. In fact, C-reactive proteins were reduced by 20 percent when participate ate nuts 5 days a week. Another inflammatory marker, interleuin-6, was reduced by over 15 percent. What are some ways people can start adding healthy nuts to their diet? They can add 1 ounce of nuts to their daily diet in the following ways.

Eat them plain as a snack. They will boost energy and provide a great source of protein.

Add nuts to salads. They offer a delicious crunchy texture and are a tasty compliment to vegetables.

Top yogurt with nuts and fruit. This healthy parfait can be eaten as breakfast, a snack, or even as dessert.

Add a variety of nuts to granola or trail mix.

Inflammation is a major area of concern for chiropractors. A reduction can result in more effective chiropractic adjustments and overall improvements in health and pain levels for their patients.